Step 1

Preheat Traeger smoker or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F.

Step 2

Prepare bacon for tenderloin. Lay strips of bacon down on a cutting board or sheet pan so the edges touch, or just barely overlap. The amount of bacon needed to wrap tenderloin will depend on the size of the piece of pork. Then place the pork tenderloin on top of the bacon.

Step 3

Season. Sprinkle BBQ rub seasoning on pork tenderloin. (I like to sprinkle it on the pork, over the bacon, so extra seasoning falls onto the bacon. It’s just a little tasty OCD detail that I care about!)

Step 4

Wrap pork tenderloin with bacon. You’ll see in the video, we do a kind of criss-cross with the bacon when we wrap it around the pork on the top. It’s not easy to explain right here, but the edges of the bacon come down in a V-shape and cross over each other to secure tightly onto the pork. Do this one piece of bacon at a time, and make sure to cover the edges with bacon as well. The tenderloin should be hidden like a little mummy inside the bacon wrap. (Instead of just strips, you could make a “bacon weave” – see FAQs in this recipe - it’s like a bacon version of a pie lattice that looks cool.)

Step 5

Smoke pork tenderloin in bacon. Place the bacon wrapped tenderloin directly on the Traeger Grill grates or Pit Boss or whatever you’re using (seam side where bacon ends meet DOWN) . Smoke with the lid closed for 1.5 hours.

Step 6

Add BBQ Sauce and finish smoking. Brush BBQ sauce on top of bacon wrapped pork tenderloin (I do this while it’s still in the smoker but you can take it out if desired). Smoke tenderloin in bacon for about 30 minutes more, until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (for medium). Exactly how long to smoke a pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon may vary depending on exact size, etc. so use an internal read thermometer to check if the tenderloin is safe to eat before turning off the smoker. (In this demo, the smoked wrapped tenderloin reached 145 in about 2 hours. The bacon wasn’t extremely crispy bacon - but it came out perfect for us – nice and meaty and dense in flavor.)

Step 7

Rest and enjoy. Remove smoker cooked bacon wrapped tenderloin from the pellet grill and rest it on a cutting board for 15 minutes. Slice in 2-3 inch chunks (about the width of a slice of bacon). Serve with extra BBQ sauce if desired, and enjoy.